Venus and Adonis

Venus and Adonis is a short opera by John Blow, a contemporary of Henry Purcell. It was composed for the court of Charles II and is the oldest surviving English opera. It is particularly interesting because it contains parts for children.

These resources provide teachers with ideas to introduce the opera to Key Stage 2 classes (children aged 7 to 11); they explore some of its themes, and look at what life was like for the children who performed the opera before King Charles in the 1680s.

The resources consist of:

Music from the time of Charles II to sing and play, including downloadable sheet music, recorded performances and backing tracks.

Practical activities using drama, music and visual art to learn about aspects of Restoration history.

Ideas to help teachers and their classes compose a 'missing scene' from the opera.

An extract from the opera to sing, with folksongs and instrumental music from the late seventeenth century. Includes sheet music especially arranged for children, recorded performances and backing tracks.

Based on a scene from Venus and Adonis, these activities look at what Restoration school life might have been like, with ideas for recreating a typical reading lesson and a look at learning Latin through pictures.

During the opera, tragedy strikes when Adonis returns fatally wounded by a wild boar. These activities use a folksong about a wild-boar hunt to inspire composition of the scene John Blow did not write.